Quantified kidney echogenicity in mice with renal ischemia reperfusion injury: evaluation as a noninvasive biomarker of acute kidney injury

Abstract

The purpose is to evaluate quantified kidney echogenicity as a biomarker for the early diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) and predicting progression to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a mouse model of ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). Two separate protocols of murine models of IRI were used: (1) 10, 30, and 40 min of bilateral ischemia duration and (2) 45 and 60 min of unilateral ischemia duration. Renal echogenicity was measured with ultrasound and compared with serum creatinine or urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) at various timepoints after IRI. In mice subjected to 10, 30, and 40 min of bilateral ischemia, renal echogenicity increased about 2 h after IRI for all ischemia times, earlier than serum creatinine or urine NGAL. In those subjected to 45 and 60 min of unilateral ischemia, 60 min of unilateral ischemia, which represents atrophic changes 28 days after IRI, resulted in a sustained high level of echogenicity and was significantly different 24 h after IRI, while 45 min of unilateral ischemia resulted in trivial levels of histological damage 28 days after IRI. Renal echogenicity might have the potential to be a biomarker for the early diagnosis of AKI and the prognosis of CKD.

Prediction model of postnatal renal function in fetuses with lower urinary tract obstruction (LUTO)—Development and internal validation

“…To improve selection of a group of fetuses eligible for prenatal therapy, an approach could be to further refine the information inferred from the ultrasound parameters and diminish the subjectivity of, for instance, assessing hyperechogenicity of the renal cortex. A novel approach that needs investigation could be the use of objective tools, such as a grayscale histogram to infer the residual renal function . The other remaining challenge is to investigate the best therapeutic modality after risk stratification.…”